The Unreliable Narrator (or, “Don’t trust that kid!”)

I’ve noticed sometimes that people will come away from one of my stories thinking that Dave Riggler is inspirational, or some kind of hero. (I’ve heard this several times with “First Steps”, for example.) I can never be sure if it’s flattery (because they think I’m Dave) or if they’re serious. Either way, it’s a nice compliment, but I want to make one thing very clear: From my standpoint, Dave’s no hero.

Take a story like “First Steps” (part of Dave Riggler’s Stories). In Dave’s mind, he’s mounting a titanic struggle against the evil forces who would make him walk. But is that really what it is? He has reasons for not wanting to walk, but are those reasons valid? He’s in middle school, so we can assume he doesn’t have a long-term view of things. (Some might even say that of the adult Dave.)

Even in his later years, Dave isn’t necessarily reliable. When Long-Distance Dedications comes out, check out “Leaving the Union” and “The Fight”. In both of these stories, Dave isn’t necessarily behaving reasonably. Human beings are like that. They’re often wrong. Don’t forget that while you’re reading. 🙂

Let me know what you think of Dave (from what you know so far) in the comments.